Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion intro

[seekermike007]

i hear ya. Am nostalgic for that kind of environment, at least on tube. Though it was my prime time, i personally would like to go back even earlier, the 50's! Remember that as wholesome as the series was, it dealt with alot of adult signs of the times, like a couple of the girls cohabitating with thier boyfriends. You could see how that sort of thing hurt and confused the van patten father character. Considering the time; late 70's and early 80's and the theme locale; Calif. a good family.

[karmalevel]

This tugged at my heart strings. It's so sad when we know what happened to most of the cast!

[radiodj1520]

I Believe This Was "Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion" Video Open From October 18, 1987.

[Superbatfan]

Amazing that nowadays Tom Bradford wouldn't need that slide projector. He would have all his pictures on an SD card. He would then put the SD card into his TV, Blu Ray Player or Computer and have his slide show that way.

[masonTganes]

@Superbatfan Actually all Tom Bradford in 2011 would have to do is open an app on his phone & just scroll with his fingers.

[michaeldjoseph]

This song stirs something in my soul ... maybe nostalgia. It's like it;s part of the fabric of who I am from my youth.

[coolstufftt]

There's a magic in the early morning we've found When the sunrise smiles on everything around It's a portrait of the happiness that we feel and always wil lEight is enough to fill our lives with love.

[coolstufftt]

Oh we're lucky we can share this beautiful stage So many find the world an empty place Anyone who asks to stand alone is always standing still And eight is enough to fill our lives with love Oh love makes all the difference nowAnd one that really showsJust look at everyone of us See how it over flows

[coolstufftt]

We spend our days like bright and shiny new dimes

If we're ever puzzled by the changing times

There's a plate of homemade wishes on the kitchen window sill

And eight is enoguh to fill our lives with love

More than enough to fill our lives with love

[michaeldjoseph]

Can't we go back to this time ... PLEASE. (Tears)

[Beautifulmusiclistnr]

Just the intro with the gentle Eight is Enough Theme music playing in the background got me teary eyed.  I forgot how much I liked this show.

[Drumchik]

I didn't see this show until the 90s, and I miss it. And I still can't believe Lani is gone. RIP.

[Kaykay940]

I wish I could see the episode where Tom and Abby marry. There are some very special episodes of this show and that's one of them.

[Ferarri355]

This grabs me emotionally...... I grew up with this show and think of how the time has gone so fast...... I can't believe I'm 40 years old, what happened? why did it go so fast.......

[jude1871]

It wrenches at the heart strings...doesn't it. God, I miss the 70's.

[alufa1]

I wish there was such good shows like this one now...

[Mystifier122]

This movie sucked because BB wasn't there -

Would've been good otherwise.

[ncdude367]

I would've preferred Betty Buckley as well, but I think Mary Frann was ok too...at least there was a bit of resemblance between the two!

[kfag101]

lani died of a drug overdose in 01

[LosPinosTacoFreak77]

Adam Rich, is good at run ins with the law.

[bigcheese1973]

I heard that the one who played the oldest daughter Mary died a few years ago, but i dont know for sure. Can anyone tell me?

[gowalkingathinline]

yeah, it's definitely time to see it go to DVD!

[Enlightenedpsych2]

Sometimes I cringe at how our youth today find this wholesome, real, funny and a 'tug at the heartstrings' (what good drama should be) kind of stuff, 'dumb'. It shaped quite a few 40-ers into good caring people that did not turn away from challenge nor try and defeat it with a weapon, we used our minds, our hearts, our spirits.

Great material for self-actualization if one can see past the 'dumbness' . . .

[masonTganes]

@Enlightenedpsych2

Sad that the majority of the cast have hit complete rock bottom or are classic cases of hollywood drug use.

I think a couple of cast members are dead too.

The show wasnt very uplifting either. Most episodes were about an out of control litter of early 20 somthings that screwed up in every situation they were in. Divorces, daddy issues, sibling rivalry.

The father would try to preach family values but those 8 kids were never happy group in one room.

kinda a 70s downer

[karmalevel]

@masonTganes the show was cursed!

[unclebobunclebob]

@masonTganes Also, Dick Van Patten reeling in a Betty Buckley? Please. And with eight kids? Please.

[iamautubewatcher]

We need the rest of movie on here!!!!

[kfag101]

I may write her. I have always liked her!

[LivengoodTodd]

One of the dumbest shows of all time. That little punk kid needed his head shaved.

[Godzilla1985]

My sister met Dick Can Patten in the early 1990's and she said to him "I loved your work on 'The Brady Bunch'" Bahahahahahahahaha!!

[kfag101]

This show rocked! please come out on dvd!

[kfag101]

Kbird, can you upload any eie videos 0r scenes?

[kfag101]

I heard that betty was hated by the cast especially wiliie aames

[kbirdusa]

I don't think they were thrilled with her at first. But when E! did their True Hollywood Story on EIE a few years ago, Willie Aames was very charitable towards her. He said that with her stage background, she did not understand the rigors of weekly TV when she first joined, but after she adjusted, he had no problems with her.

[karmalevel]

@kbirdusa I knew a gaffer who worked on the set and he said that betty and laurie were terrors and the cast loathed them. Dianne Kay, he told me was too sweet for this business

[myrnaturner]

Joan Prather got me into Scientology!

[kfag101]

Dianne Kay was the first female I had a crush on. She made me realize at only 6 years old that I was bisexual

[somewhatlongdong]

Dianne Kay was the first female I had a crush on. She made me realize at only 6 years old that I was bisexual ...

send her a note of thanks

[plutoplatters]

or confused ? ponder

[QBCNetwork]

This NBC movie was opposite The World Series on ABC Sports (Minnesota Twins vs St. Louis Cardinals) & hits a home run!

When Willie Aames played the guitar & sang that number near the end of the movie, Tommy Bradford made a grand slam in my books!

[sh4b4zz]

oh Dick van Patten...is there anything you can't do??

[brickmanonj]

In one of the clips, there are 6 girls, the 3 boys, and Tom Bradford. Is Betty Buckley in the photo as well? It's the clip right before the Benefit concert.

[kbirdusa]

I looked very closely at that photo in larger resolution, and I believe it was an old cast photo that was touched up to stick Mary Frann's head (an older shot, with darker hair) on Betty Buckley's body. Why they went to so much trouble to do this, when they clearly left Buckley in another shot, I have no idea.

[brickmanonj]

I didn't know that Betty Buckley didn't get along with the cast, either. I wonder if she had been too difficult to work with, or if there had been some resentment because she came on-board later on, replacing a cast member who had passed away.

[kbirdusa]

Well, I heard that the kids became very attached to Diana Hyland during the short period they worked together. Also, Buckley was a perfectionist, wanting to do retake after retake - behavior not suited to the rigors of a weekly series. She was a strict vegetarian, so she refused to appear in any scenes where there was meat on the table. Stuff like that got old after awhile. There was another character that Tom dated after Joan died, and the kids hoped that she would be the stepmother, not Abby.

[mstewart61]

I understand that this was Betty's first TV series and she was used to being on the stage and not realizing the differeniation between TV and theatre. From what I understood they were close to canning Betty after her season but somehow it got worked out and she stayed through the duration of the show. Her and Dick Van Patten got along very well. I did like her portrayal of Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott Bradford. She gave powerful perfomances in the show and at points moving me to tears.

[Superbatfan]

@brickmanonj

There was an Eight Is Enough reunion on the Today Show recently and Betty Buckley was a part of it. The reason that she didn't appear in the reunion movies was the same reason at least one of the Brady girls was absent and replaced in the Brady reunion shows- she had other things going on at the time and couldn't participate.

[bingbong35]

There's an eerie scene where Mary Frann(Abby), shows Lani O'Grady(Mary Bradford), a posterboard of all of the family members with Diana Hyland as the original mother pictured. And now all three actresses have passed away-that's so ironic.

[cheech41]

this was one of the best programs that i ever watched, it really emphasised the values of family, and fun that sorely lack today

[bingbong35]

I think Betty Buckley was too busy on Broadway to return as "Abby" or maybe she just didn't want to. I'm not sure. Anyone out there know for sure what happened? Mary Frann did a respectable job but it wasn't the same.

[kbirdusa]

The official explanation was that Betty Buckley was busy filming "Frantic". In actuality, the producers negotiated with Buckley to do the movie, and she was open to it. But the negotiations dragged on and on, so the producers got fed up and walked away from the table, hiring Mary Frann (the rest of the cast wasn't disappointed - Betty apparently wasn't well-liked). For the second reunion, Buckley wasn't even offered the part.

Mary Frann did OK, but she came off little too perky to be Abby.

[bingbong35]

Kbirdusa, thanks for the thourough explanation of Betty Buckley. I didn't know the cast wasn't too crazy about Betty. She just appeared to fit in so well with everyone. I heard somewhere she wasn't to happy doing the series at the time but was under contract.

[trey3sgirl]

they are SO white-bread!!

[camaxsam]

A Classic, Thankyou!